Agape is the Greek word for love that is the primary teaching of Jesus. It roughly translates to “neighbor love.”
The Agapé Thread – December 2017
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The Point of Illumination
An oral tradition is not an act of remembering. It’s an act of maintenance. When something that was written 800 years ago is passed from one generation to the next, it stops being 800 years old, and becomes something that your grandmother taught you.
Mystery is Near
When we find ourselves on the edge — confronted by the inevitable challenge of our mortality, facing eternity, we are humbled by a mystery that cannot be fathomed.
This is a moment of religious desperation, a moment when try, in vain, to tame the ultimate.
Eyes of the Heart, Enlightened
the heart, by itself is a biological necessity, but the heart with eyes is a religious necessity.
The heart must interact with the rest of the world. Then the heart is given meaning. Then the life is given purpose.
Prayerful Insistence
Prayer does not take away our responsibility.
Because prayer is not simply a speaking outwards toward God.
Prayer is more than that. Prayer is an acting inward toward God.
Broad Phylacteries
Climate change is not going to go away if we ignore it.
We are confronted with the singular concern of our time.
The singular problem that faces not only our community, but our species.
Pathfinder — November 2017
The other day my son Silas came up to me.
“You want 50 cents?” he asked.
“Uh, sure,” I said.
He handed me what looked like a one-dollar bill. I was about to protest, and tell him that it wasn’t 50 cents, when I realized that the bill in my hand was half of a one-dollar bill.
He laughed.
“Get it?”
Pathfinder — October 2017
My friends, you may recall on a recent Sunday (September 3rd) the scripture lessons steered me, as they often do,to waxing a bit about church. In the Epistle that morning, Paul comforted us, saying “love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor.”(Romans 12:9-10).The gospel lesson from Matthew, though, gave us a more challenging message: If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 16:24-25)…
Chosen?
Being chosen by God is generally considered to be a good thing.
After all, when God is on your side, you must be pretty powerful, right?
But as these stories suggest, it is not that simple.